Full name Varun Chopra
Born June 21, 1987, Barking, Essex
Current age 22 years 143 days
Major teams England Under-19s, Essex, Essex 2nd XI
Nickname Tidz
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Height 6 ft 1 in
Education Ilford County HS
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-class | 48 | 81 | 5 | 2252 | 155 | 29.63 | 4742 | 47.49 | 2 | 16 | 290 | 5 | 40 | 0 |
| List A | 34 | 32 | 1 | 1179 | 102 | 38.03 | 1607 | 73.36 | 2 | 10 | 119 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Twenty20 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 136 | 51 | 15.11 | 141 | 96.45 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-class | 48 | 9 | 131 | 78 | 0 | - | - | - | 3.57 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 34 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | - | - | - | 6.00 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Twenty20 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First-class debut | Essex v Loughborough UCCE at Chelmsford, Apr 15-17, 2006 scorecard |
| Last First-class | Essex v Leicestershire at Chelmsford, Aug 26-29, 2009 scorecard |
| List A debut | Essex v Sri Lankans at Chelmsford, Jun 9, 2006 scorecard |
| Last List A | Somerset v Essex at Taunton, Sep 8, 2009 scorecard |
| Twenty20 debut | Hampshire v Essex at Southampton, Jul 3, 2006 scorecard |
| Last Twenty20 | Essex v Hampshire at Chelmsford, Jun 28, 2009 scorecard |
An opening batsman of considerable talent, Varun Chopra impressed as captain of England Under-19s, who he led to a comprehensive series whitewash of Sri Lanka in 2005. He was on fire himself, averaging 48 in the Tests and striking a half-century in one of the two ODIs. But life was about to get immediately tougher for him and his side - an 11-0 pasting followed on the winter tour of Bangladesh.
Chopra's own form with the bat was largely indifferent - although he did find form towards the end with 77 and 98 - and he lost the captaincy for the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in February, but he was reinstated for the 2006 summer series against India.
With a resolute temperament and the talent to match, Chopra has been tipped for the top. Graham Gooch is a fan, calling him "a smart lad who works hard at his game and has a natural eye for a ball." Gooch first encountered him at an Indian coaching camp. "He looked a good player then - upright and likes to play off the front and back foots straight through cover."
As with many young batsman the talent has been a little slow to fully emerge, but with the likes of Gooch to mentor him at Chelmsford he is at a good place to learn.
Jenny Thompson April 2009
- Tahir and Varun Chopra sign for Warwickshire (Oct 27, 2009)
- Goodwin hundred sinks Surrey (May 10, 2009)
- Trego humbles Middlesex for 65 (May 4, 2009)
- West Indian bowlers vie for Test berth (Apr 25, 2009)
- Swann fitness boost in Nottinghamshire victory (Apr 19, 2009)
Apr 25, 2009
Varun Chopra made 50 against the West Indians
© Associated Press
Jun 27, 2006
Varun Chopra portrait
© Kieran Galvin
Jan 13, 2006
Varun Chopra portrait
© Getty Images
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